It is well known that water lines which are exposed to the atmosphere and cold temperatures need protection from freezing. Many pipelines are run underground for this reason as well as for aesthetic reasons of removing the pipelines from sight. The problems of maintenance, access and operation of the backflow preventer components in the pipeline, however, make it impractical to have every portion of the line underground. Backflow preventers must vent to the atmosphere making burial impossible and installation in a floodable pit impractical. The compromise in many installations is to bury the pipeline except for the sections having valves and backflow preventers which must be adjusted or serviced. These sections are positioned just above ground level with the pipeline upstream and downstream from the valve sections being underground. These exposed sections are subject to freezing and becoming inoperable unless they are protected from the weather.
It is an object of this invention to provide a heated cover for a valve and backflow preventer components of a pipeline. It is another object of this invention to provide such a cover which is sectionalized for easy assembly or disassembly from around such components and to include inspection access doors to allow for the periodic testing and certification required by law. Other objects will become apparent from the more detailed description which follows.